Dr. Johnson's comments on anecdotal writing (see JohnsonOnAnecdotes) are perhaps reminiscent (or prescient!)of the description of some computer languages as crystalline, perfect and self-contained, versus LISP which resembles "... a ball of mud; add to it, and you just get a bigger ball of mud." There is truth in both the crystal and the ball of mud. Real life is messy and complex, but reveals a naked symmetric beauty in moments of profoundest insight.